The IFPB Olive Harvest delegation has arrived in Jerusalem! I've been following these trips for a while, check out the delegates' first report....
IFPB Report #1
I haven't learned about East Jerusalem in a long time. I almost avoid it, it makes me so sad...
We met last night with several Sheikh Jarrah Palestinian residents at the home of Nabeel Al-Kurd. As we entered his yard, we saw a Sukkah (a Sukkot booth) draped with an Israeli flag partially covering “Free Palestine” graffiti.
We learned that Israeli settlers had seized and for many months now had been occupying the front part of Nabeel’s house. Nabeel greeted us and led us along the pathway to a patio by the back of his house. As we walked, a dog barked fiercely from inside the front of the house, jumping up and disturbing the window curtains.
We were joined by other Sheikh Jarrah residents, women who with their families had been evicted from their homes at five in the morning on August 2, 2009. They told of “savage” evictions, with Israeli commandos with guns closing off the neighborhood, breaking down their doors, pulling them and their children out of their homes, and throwing their furniture in to the streets. Within hours Israeli settlers had moved themselves and their furniture in. Click here for photos.
For over six months, these families then lived in tents outside their now-occupied houses. Even these tents were then repeatedly destroyed (for one woman’s family, 17 different times) with their possessions taken and destroyed. With each demolition, they were fined 500 shekels. As these neighbors spoke with us, Nabeel pointed out surveillance cameras that the Israeli government has placed all over the neighborhood. “We are famous,” one of the Palestinians joked.
The stories were heartbreaking. How do these Palestinians sustain themselves and keep hope, we asked. Nabeel stood tall as he said, “This is our place, these are our homes, this is our right, and we believe in that.”
An elderly Palestinian woman added, “The more we are pressured, the stronger we are.”
- Allie Perry
No, I don't see beauty in the unification (Judaization) of Jerusalem. It wasn't meant to be that way.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Boats sailing now to Gaza!
from the U.S. Boat to Gaza:
Spread the word.
Israel and the U.S. outsourced the siege of Gaza to Athens last summer by preventing 8 boats in the Freedom Flotilla 2-Stay Human from sailing from Greek ports to Gaza. Despite this we were able to bring world-wide attention to the blockade of the Gaza Strip. Our efforts in Greece only fueled our determination to challenge the imprisonment of the people of Gaza. We said we would continue to sail and so we are!!!
At this moment, two boats are in international waters in the Mediterranean heading to Gaza. One boat, the Saoirse from Ireland, includes parliamentarians among its passengers. The other, the Tahrir, carries representatives from Canada, the U.S., Australia, and Palestine. The U.S. Representative on the Tahrir, Kit Kittredge, was a passenger on the U.S. Boat to Gaza, The Audacity of Hope mission in Athens in July. A journalist from Democracy Now is on the Tahrir also. Civil society organizations in Gaza await their arrival, and look forward to the delivery of letters collected from thousands of U.S. supporters in the To Gaza With Love campaign.
We need your help to make this mission a success. Please take these actions immediately.
1. Check these websites for updates: U.S. to Gaza, Irish Ship to Gaza and Canadian Boat to Gaza, watch or listen to Democracy Now for live coverage from the Tahrir. Look for twitter hashtag #Freedomwaves.
2. Spread the word far and wide - send this alert to your contacts.
3. Call the State Department and the White House- demand that they take immediate action to ensure the safe passage of these boats and to put an end to the siege of Gaza.
Call the State Department:
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton 202-647-5291
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro 011-972-3-519-7575
Office of Israel/Palestinian Affairs Paul Sutphin 202-647-3672
Office of Consular Affairs, Kim Richter 202-647-8308
and the White House: 202-456-1414
email President Obama at http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact
Godspeed.
Spread the word.
Israel and the U.S. outsourced the siege of Gaza to Athens last summer by preventing 8 boats in the Freedom Flotilla 2-Stay Human from sailing from Greek ports to Gaza. Despite this we were able to bring world-wide attention to the blockade of the Gaza Strip. Our efforts in Greece only fueled our determination to challenge the imprisonment of the people of Gaza. We said we would continue to sail and so we are!!!
At this moment, two boats are in international waters in the Mediterranean heading to Gaza. One boat, the Saoirse from Ireland, includes parliamentarians among its passengers. The other, the Tahrir, carries representatives from Canada, the U.S., Australia, and Palestine. The U.S. Representative on the Tahrir, Kit Kittredge, was a passenger on the U.S. Boat to Gaza, The Audacity of Hope mission in Athens in July. A journalist from Democracy Now is on the Tahrir also. Civil society organizations in Gaza await their arrival, and look forward to the delivery of letters collected from thousands of U.S. supporters in the To Gaza With Love campaign.
We need your help to make this mission a success. Please take these actions immediately.
1. Check these websites for updates: U.S. to Gaza, Irish Ship to Gaza and Canadian Boat to Gaza, watch or listen to Democracy Now for live coverage from the Tahrir. Look for twitter hashtag #Freedomwaves.
2. Spread the word far and wide - send this alert to your contacts.
3. Call the State Department and the White House- demand that they take immediate action to ensure the safe passage of these boats and to put an end to the siege of Gaza.
Call the State Department:
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton 202-647-5291
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro 011-972-3-519-7575
Office of Israel/Palestinian Affairs Paul Sutphin 202-647-3672
Office of Consular Affairs, Kim Richter 202-647-8308
and the White House: 202-456-1414
email President Obama at http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact
Godspeed.
I signed this petition to Congress from Jewish Voice for Peace, telling them challenge the mandate that requires them to defund UNESCO, and got the following response from my Senator, Maria Cantwell....
Dear Ms. Bach,
Thank you for contacting me regarding the situation in Israel. Israel is an important ally of the United States. We share common values and interests with Israel and they set the example for democratic government in the Middle East.
I applaud President Obama's decision to make the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict a top priority of his administration. I share the President's belief that the United States must remain fully engaged in the peace process and I strongly support his work in this region.
Peace is possible, but it will take hard work. Ultimately, there must be a two state solution. While resolution of the conflict is up to the Israelis and Palestinians, I believe the United States, the international community, and Arab countries have an important role to play. I am looking forward to working with President Obama, his foreign policy team and my Senate colleagues in finding a peaceful solution for the Middle East.
Thank you again for contacting me to share your thoughts on this matter. You may also be interested in signing up for periodic updates for Washington State residents. If you are interested in subscribing to this update, please visit my website at http://cantwell.senate.gov. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future if I can be of further assistance.
Sincerely,
Maria Cantwell
United States Senator
This is how I responded, rather heatedly...oops.
Dear Senator Cantwell,
Thank you for the automated response, but I would rather have some indication that you're not regurgitating lines from AIPAC. The petition I signed was not regarding the situation in Israel. I'm an English teacher in the West Bank, and what Israel is doing here doesn't serve its own interests, let alone ours. I'm living in a village called Al Aqaba, which is under demolition order from the Israeli army. In Area C, 60% of the West Bank, Palestinian villages are forbidden to build, and routinely have their houses and animal shelters destroyed by Israeli bulldozers. They're cut off from their water sources, while Israeli military camps and Jewish settlements build without restriction and steal their water to grow crops that are exported illegally from occupied territory. The end goal is annexation, as Netanyahu stated last year: "we will never cede the Jordan Valley." This will isolate Palestinian cities by Israeli territory on all sides. This is Israel's idea of a just solution, and it's happening with our consent and our tax dollars. Unlike the Lobby, I refuse to believe that this is a clash of civilizations, Israelis vs. Palestinians. This is a conflict between people who want peace on both sides, and the racist, militaristic, expansionist mindset that is driving Israeli policy. A government headed by a man who openly brags about manipulating Congress is not our ally. I go to demonstrations every weekend with Israelis who dodge their own army's tear gas to protest the Apartheid wall. The answer isn't in direct negotiations, it's in Congress. We need to cut off the money that pays Israeli soldiers to protect illegal settlements. We need to cut off the money that pays for the bulldozer that razed two streets, two houses, and left 22 people in this village homeless. Is that your idea of peace?
I know you don't read these e-mails. I just had to counter your message. I've always been a fan of yours, but our Middle East policy can't continue like this. Washington State is actually a beacon for the Palestinian rights struggle in the US, haven't you ever wondered why?
Dear Ms. Bach,
Thank you for contacting me regarding the situation in Israel. Israel is an important ally of the United States. We share common values and interests with Israel and they set the example for democratic government in the Middle East.
I applaud President Obama's decision to make the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict a top priority of his administration. I share the President's belief that the United States must remain fully engaged in the peace process and I strongly support his work in this region.
Peace is possible, but it will take hard work. Ultimately, there must be a two state solution. While resolution of the conflict is up to the Israelis and Palestinians, I believe the United States, the international community, and Arab countries have an important role to play. I am looking forward to working with President Obama, his foreign policy team and my Senate colleagues in finding a peaceful solution for the Middle East.
Thank you again for contacting me to share your thoughts on this matter. You may also be interested in signing up for periodic updates for Washington State residents. If you are interested in subscribing to this update, please visit my website at http://cantwell.senate.gov. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future if I can be of further assistance.
Sincerely,
Maria Cantwell
United States Senator
This is how I responded, rather heatedly...oops.
Dear Senator Cantwell,
Thank you for the automated response, but I would rather have some indication that you're not regurgitating lines from AIPAC. The petition I signed was not regarding the situation in Israel. I'm an English teacher in the West Bank, and what Israel is doing here doesn't serve its own interests, let alone ours. I'm living in a village called Al Aqaba, which is under demolition order from the Israeli army. In Area C, 60% of the West Bank, Palestinian villages are forbidden to build, and routinely have their houses and animal shelters destroyed by Israeli bulldozers. They're cut off from their water sources, while Israeli military camps and Jewish settlements build without restriction and steal their water to grow crops that are exported illegally from occupied territory. The end goal is annexation, as Netanyahu stated last year: "we will never cede the Jordan Valley." This will isolate Palestinian cities by Israeli territory on all sides. This is Israel's idea of a just solution, and it's happening with our consent and our tax dollars. Unlike the Lobby, I refuse to believe that this is a clash of civilizations, Israelis vs. Palestinians. This is a conflict between people who want peace on both sides, and the racist, militaristic, expansionist mindset that is driving Israeli policy. A government headed by a man who openly brags about manipulating Congress is not our ally. I go to demonstrations every weekend with Israelis who dodge their own army's tear gas to protest the Apartheid wall. The answer isn't in direct negotiations, it's in Congress. We need to cut off the money that pays Israeli soldiers to protect illegal settlements. We need to cut off the money that pays for the bulldozer that razed two streets, two houses, and left 22 people in this village homeless. Is that your idea of peace?
I know you don't read these e-mails. I just had to counter your message. I've always been a fan of yours, but our Middle East policy can't continue like this. Washington State is actually a beacon for the Palestinian rights struggle in the US, haven't you ever wondered why?
So much to do!
Donna from Rebuilding Alliance suggested we apply for a grant for $100,000 for the Rural Women's Society, which supports women and children in the community, mostly by running the kindergarten and sewing cooperative. Haj Sami and I have been filling out the application together. I'm doing some guesswork on the long answers, but we need to review and translate and scan and e-mail the documents tomorrow.
Here's one of the answers Haj Sami gave me:
We need to put the children in the kindergarten because they play in the land and they play with bombs (landmines) and there are bullets and scorpions. When he comes to the kindergarten he will play in the playground.
We teach the children about the land, and how to be safe from the military training and the bombs.
We want to grow so we can help more women and more kids. We need a school bus (right now they have a minibus that they cram all the kids into). We need salaries for the teachers-right now they only $100 every month. It's not good. We need a good playground with a good shelter over the top, and a kitchen.
I didn't have time to pause while I was scribbling all that down, but I was thinking, wow. they've come a long way. The kindergarten, that place I stumble over to at 9am every morning and teach the ABC's and Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes in, that place is really amazing.
I'm also making a video of some of the projects that are happening around the village, wall-building, painting, mudding, farming, beautification and the like. If I could be a full-time video maker for Al Aqaba, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Though it involves a lot of sitting on my butt. And now that the apartment has internet, I can do a lot more sitting on my butt.
Haj Sami just came back to bring me a plate of knafeh. Alhamdulliah!
Donna from Rebuilding Alliance suggested we apply for a grant for $100,000 for the Rural Women's Society, which supports women and children in the community, mostly by running the kindergarten and sewing cooperative. Haj Sami and I have been filling out the application together. I'm doing some guesswork on the long answers, but we need to review and translate and scan and e-mail the documents tomorrow.
Here's one of the answers Haj Sami gave me:
We need to put the children in the kindergarten because they play in the land and they play with bombs (landmines) and there are bullets and scorpions. When he comes to the kindergarten he will play in the playground.
We teach the children about the land, and how to be safe from the military training and the bombs.
We want to grow so we can help more women and more kids. We need a school bus (right now they have a minibus that they cram all the kids into). We need salaries for the teachers-right now they only $100 every month. It's not good. We need a good playground with a good shelter over the top, and a kitchen.
I didn't have time to pause while I was scribbling all that down, but I was thinking, wow. they've come a long way. The kindergarten, that place I stumble over to at 9am every morning and teach the ABC's and Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes in, that place is really amazing.
I'm also making a video of some of the projects that are happening around the village, wall-building, painting, mudding, farming, beautification and the like. If I could be a full-time video maker for Al Aqaba, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Though it involves a lot of sitting on my butt. And now that the apartment has internet, I can do a lot more sitting on my butt.
Haj Sami just came back to bring me a plate of knafeh. Alhamdulliah!
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Three new habits I've picked up here:
The first shouldn't count, because it's part of learning Arabic, but in Arabic "yeah" is just "uh." So saying yes is really easy. uh. uh.
Second, the dismissal by hand wave. You just flick your hand out, like, "whatever..."
Thirdly, the tsk. At first it bothered me when people did it, because I'm not used to being so upfront with my disapproval, but now I find myself doing it, and it's hard to hold back. I was walking with Nancy and her sister in Nablus and her sister put her water bottle down on the sidewalk and I tsked her. I didn't even realize it until Nancy starting laughing.
Is it extra patronizing when a foreigner does it?
The first shouldn't count, because it's part of learning Arabic, but in Arabic "yeah" is just "uh." So saying yes is really easy. uh. uh.
Second, the dismissal by hand wave. You just flick your hand out, like, "whatever..."
Thirdly, the tsk. At first it bothered me when people did it, because I'm not used to being so upfront with my disapproval, but now I find myself doing it, and it's hard to hold back. I was walking with Nancy and her sister in Nablus and her sister put her water bottle down on the sidewalk and I tsked her. I didn't even realize it until Nancy starting laughing.
Is it extra patronizing when a foreigner does it?
15 shot, 2 dead in 4 New Orleans Halloween Night Shootings
New Orleans!! :(
Article from nola.com
"Why is America so violent?"
I saw this link the other day from nola.com too....
New Orleans Police Department is shrinking due to increasing rate of dismissals
After the officers were convicted in the post-Katrina Danziger Bridge killings, the NOPD has been front and center. It's weird going from a place where cops are everywhere, to Palestine, a place where a lot of people don't even know how to call the police, because they don't need to.
Sadly, the police don't have any power against the Occupation Forces. If an Israeli soldier breaks down someone's door, searches their home, and puts a minor in the back of the jeep, there's no one they can call, except maybe an Israeli lawyer who knows how to fight occupation policy...
The police situation in New Orleans is also pretty bleak. I went to a few community meetings with the OPPRC, the Orleans Parish Prison....Reform Committee, I think. My friend in New Orleans told me during Hurricane Gustav in 2007, he was arrested for a traffic violation and put in Orleans Parish Prison and left there for three days without food or a phone call. When he protested they threatened to throw him in the psych ward, the infamous 10th floor...??
Such messed up systems we have...but where you find injustice you also find strength and warmth...it's why New Orleans and Palestine are my two favorite places :)
Article from nola.com
"Why is America so violent?"
I saw this link the other day from nola.com too....
New Orleans Police Department is shrinking due to increasing rate of dismissals
After the officers were convicted in the post-Katrina Danziger Bridge killings, the NOPD has been front and center. It's weird going from a place where cops are everywhere, to Palestine, a place where a lot of people don't even know how to call the police, because they don't need to.
Sadly, the police don't have any power against the Occupation Forces. If an Israeli soldier breaks down someone's door, searches their home, and puts a minor in the back of the jeep, there's no one they can call, except maybe an Israeli lawyer who knows how to fight occupation policy...
The police situation in New Orleans is also pretty bleak. I went to a few community meetings with the OPPRC, the Orleans Parish Prison....Reform Committee, I think. My friend in New Orleans told me during Hurricane Gustav in 2007, he was arrested for a traffic violation and put in Orleans Parish Prison and left there for three days without food or a phone call. When he protested they threatened to throw him in the psych ward, the infamous 10th floor...??
Such messed up systems we have...but where you find injustice you also find strength and warmth...it's why New Orleans and Palestine are my two favorite places :)
The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.
Also a pleasant name. Also a really racist organization...I don't understand how they do it. How do you cater to American Christians without letting it slip that you're oppressing their fellow Christians in Palestine? Don't let them find out there are Palestinian Christians? Their shtick is: All Palestinians are Muslims, and we, the civilized ones, are united against them.
They don't have the best reputation in Israel, because they ask for international charity money for an already-wealthy state, but a lot of American Christians don't know that. They give a lot of money to this guy. The first time I saw him was on an Evangelical channel, while he was making an appeal for money to airlift Russian Jews to Israel. I subscribed to his e-mail list, and I find his ramblings both entertaining and sad. He doesn't seem to know that the casualty ratio in this conflict is 100 Palestinians to every Israeli, or acknowledge that Palestinians are capable of suffering. It's amusingly naive, but not amusing at the same time, because you know how many people are eating it up.
Imagine putting a dinosaur bandaid over a gaping wound. Now imagine that dinosaur bandaid costs a million dollars.
When the Code Red alarm signals an incoming terrorist rocket, Israeli schoolchildren have just 12 seconds to reach safety.
As unrest and instability continue to spread across the Middle East and more terrorist rockets rain down on Israeli cities, Israel’s Ministry of Defense has turned to IFCJ for help providing emergency bomb shelters.
While IFCJ has already funded the renovation or construction of thousands of bomb shelters over the past five years, there are still many areas that don’t have the protection needed.
We are calling on faithful friends like you to help us meet this security need by supporting The Fellowship’s Emergency Bomb Shelter Project today.
Due to the urgent need for additional shelters, we are funding a highly effective but low cost design that will allow us to protect more people in the most vulnerable areas.
IFCJ’s immediate focus is on protecting schools in southern Israel that are at immediate risk of rocket and mortar attacks. With your gift today, we can ensure that innocent children will have a bomb shelter to run to for safety!
With so much turmoil in the Holy Land, Israel clearly needs us more than ever. I hope you will join us by responding in a meaningful way through IFCJ’s Emergency Bomb Shelter Project.
With prayers for shalom, peace,
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
President
I wish this man would come to Al Aqaba. Nothing like a little makloubeh with the Palestinians to quell your fears....
They don't have the best reputation in Israel, because they ask for international charity money for an already-wealthy state, but a lot of American Christians don't know that. They give a lot of money to this guy. The first time I saw him was on an Evangelical channel, while he was making an appeal for money to airlift Russian Jews to Israel. I subscribed to his e-mail list, and I find his ramblings both entertaining and sad. He doesn't seem to know that the casualty ratio in this conflict is 100 Palestinians to every Israeli, or acknowledge that Palestinians are capable of suffering. It's amusingly naive, but not amusing at the same time, because you know how many people are eating it up.
Imagine putting a dinosaur bandaid over a gaping wound. Now imagine that dinosaur bandaid costs a million dollars.
When the Code Red alarm signals an incoming terrorist rocket, Israeli schoolchildren have just 12 seconds to reach safety.
As unrest and instability continue to spread across the Middle East and more terrorist rockets rain down on Israeli cities, Israel’s Ministry of Defense has turned to IFCJ for help providing emergency bomb shelters.
While IFCJ has already funded the renovation or construction of thousands of bomb shelters over the past five years, there are still many areas that don’t have the protection needed.
We are calling on faithful friends like you to help us meet this security need by supporting The Fellowship’s Emergency Bomb Shelter Project today.
Due to the urgent need for additional shelters, we are funding a highly effective but low cost design that will allow us to protect more people in the most vulnerable areas.
IFCJ’s immediate focus is on protecting schools in southern Israel that are at immediate risk of rocket and mortar attacks. With your gift today, we can ensure that innocent children will have a bomb shelter to run to for safety!
With so much turmoil in the Holy Land, Israel clearly needs us more than ever. I hope you will join us by responding in a meaningful way through IFCJ’s Emergency Bomb Shelter Project.
With prayers for shalom, peace,
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
President
I wish this man would come to Al Aqaba. Nothing like a little makloubeh with the Palestinians to quell your fears....
State Department briefing
I can't embed this video, but you should watch it.
State Department representative tries to explain why the U.S. voted no to Palestinian membership and cut UNESCO funding
...and gets schooled.
This woman is ridiculous. How did she get that job?
State Department representative tries to explain why the U.S. voted no to Palestinian membership and cut UNESCO funding
...and gets schooled.
This woman is ridiculous. How did she get that job?
UNESCO votes to include Palestine
Recognizing Palestine makes UNESCO ineligible for U.S. funds. So it'll lose 22% of its funding. For 195 countries.
"Unesco, perhaps best known for designating world heritage sites, is a major global development agency whose missions include promoting literacy, science, clean water and education, including sex education and equal treatment for girls and young women."
NYTimes article
Bless these Palestinians for not making me feel like I need to wear a paper bag over my head.
...
It's funny, one of my students, the day after we did our lesson on stereotypes, arrived with a copy of the Balfour Declaration, to explain to me why he described Britain as "rude:"
His Majesty's government view with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object. It being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.
I should be grateful if you would bring this declaration to the knowledge of the Zionist Federation.
Another of my students said, "see, he's very rude. He gave away a land that was not his!"
Today, Britain abstained from the UNESCO vote. It sat quietly in the corner.
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